The present invention is directed to optical communication systems and methods thereof.
With advent of the Internet, cloud computing, and social networks, there is an ever increasing demand on the data communication network. To provide high speed data communication, optical communication network is one of the top choices. To transmit data through optical communication network, electrical signals are modulated into optical signals. Electrical signals can be modulated in various ways, such as phase modulation, amplitude modulation, polarization modulation, and/or combination thereof.
For electro-optic modulation, Mach-Zehnder (MZ) modulators are often used. For example, in a MZ modulator, a beam splitter divides the laser light into two paths, one of which has a phase modulator. The beams are then recombined. Changing the electric field on the phase modulating path will then determine whether the two beams interfere constructively or destructively at the output, and thereby control the amplitude or intensity of the exiting light.
Over the past, there has been many implementation of MZ modulators, but unfortunately they have been inadequate as explained below. Therefore, improved system and methods for MZ modulation systems are desired.